Typographical slug casting machine



March 22, 1938. .1. E. BILLINGTON ET AL TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Nov 17, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 //v VE/VTORS.

March 22, 1938. .1. E. BI LLINGTON ET AL 2,112,134

TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 17, 1936 March 22, 1 938. J. E. BILLINGTON ET AL TYPOGRAPHICAL SL UG CASTING MACHINE Filed :Nov. 17, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 d H---w iii Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE TYPOGRAPHICAL 'SLUG CASTING MACHINE Application November 17, 1936, Serial No. 111,206

In Great Britain 8 Claims.

This invention relates to typographical slug casting machines such as those known commercially under the registered trade-mark Linotype", wherein a slug or type bar is cast in a slotted mouid against a line of matrices sustained in front of the mould between a pair of line clamping jaws, which jaws are normally set at a distance apart corresponding to the length of the mould slot. More particularly the invention relates to machines of this kind in which means are provided for moving at least one jaw inwardly from its set position for the purpose of clamping a line of less than the set length to produce a slug on which the cast line is quadded out at one side or the other when either jaw is moved, or centred when both jaws are moved.

In such an arrangement the movable jaw, or each movable jaw, is made long enough to close that part of the mould slot which is not closed by the short matrix line so that the slug produced has a printing face of the normal type height from the base of the slug and a blank portion or portions of less than type height.

Quadded or centered slugs are frequently used 25 for the production of printed matter with inset illustrations, and in such cases it is convenient to use the blank portions of the slugs to support the blocks or plates bearing the illustrations, for which purpose the height of'the said blank portions must be correctly related to the thickness of the blocksior plates to present the printing surfaces of the latter at the same level as theprinting surfaces of the slugs.

The object of-the present invention is to provide means for preparing slugs having blank portions of reduced height for this purpose.

With this object in View, the invention consists in a typographical slug casting machine comprising line clamping jaws and quadding devices therefor, a mould slot, a filling piece adapted to reduce the depth of said slot over the length thereof not presented with matrices, and means for detachably connecting said filling piece to a law, when desired, in order that it 'is moved therewith when the latter clamps the line.

Conveniently a filling piece is employed which can be inserted into the mould slot to close said slot at the front to the desired depth and for the' desired length corresponding to the length of the means provided for effecting the positioning of' the filling piece are adapted to be conveniently blank portion of the slug to be cast, and this oper- November 23, 1935 brought into and thrown out of action as desired, so as not to interfere with the normal function of the vice jaw in producing a blank slug portion of a height equal to the depth of the mould.

The invention will be readily understood from' the following description of one form which it may assume, given, however, merely by way of example. This description will be more easily followed by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

Figure 1 represents in plan view the vise frame, clamping jaws, mould Wheel and mould of a machine embodying the invention;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 represent respectively in plan, rear elevation and side sectional elevation, a half portion of the arrangement of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale and Figure 5 represents a detail modification of the invention.

7 In carrying the invention into effect in one convenient manner, the filling piece may be supported for endwise adjustment to a position in front of the mould slot corresponding with the position to which the jaw is adjusted for quadding, and sustained in the said position so as to enter the mould slot when the mould is advanced in known manner prior to casting, the endwise adjustment being preferably effected through the operation of the mechanism which effects the inward movement of the jaw.

The constructional form of the invention now to be described has particular reference to an arrangement in which the lefthand jaw is movable for quadding, but it should be understood that the invention is not limited to such an arrangement but may be used as desired with either I or both jaws. In this construction shown in the accompanying drawings, the filling piece consists of a metal strip a long enough entirely to close a mould slot of maximum length, which strip is slidably mounted in a bracket 1) fixed to the vise framed beneath the vise jaw 12. The bracket 1) extends upwardly at the rear of the vise jaw to support the filling piece a. at the level of the mould slot and close to, but slidably free from,

the rear face of the jaw 01 which normally abuts against the mould when'casting, the inner end of the strip a and the line clamping face of the vise jaw lying flush with-each other in the position in which they are normally set for a given length of line.

The-thickness of the strip a from front to rear corresponds with the reduction to be effected in the height of the blank portion of the slug, and the vertical width of the strip may be equal to the width of the mould slot, determined by the width of the liners e inserted between the mould body and mould cap, which also serve to define the ends of the slot. These liners normally extend from front to rear of the mould slot, but for cooperation with the filling piece a, in the present constructional form of the invention, the lefthand mould liner is made shallower than the mould slot, as shown in Figure 2, to an extent equal to the thickness of the filling piece.

As one convenient way of effecting the endwise adjustment of the filling strip a to an extent corresponding with the adjustment of the vice jaw for quadding, means are provided for detachably connecting the strip to the vice jaw, such detachable connection also permitting the normal operation of the vice jaw (without the filling piece) for casting the blank portion of the slug to the normal height when required.

As shown, the strip a is formed at its outer end with a forwardly extending lug f adapted to engage within an open slot g in the outer end of the vice jaw, and to be secured thereto by a pin or peg h passing through holes in the vice jaw and in the lug. A loose peg may be employed for this purpose, or, as shown, the peg may be mounted on the vice jaw with a suitable lever i for adjusting it to operative and inoperative positions in which it may be retained by a spring actuated detent 7c. Thus, for normal operation, the pin is disconnected from the lug f on the filling piece a, and the latter remains stationary when the jaw is moved for quadding, the slot in the jaw passing into and out of engagement with the lug during such movement. The outer end of the slot g is preferably flared as shown to facilitate the return movement of the jaw into engagement with the lug I. When the pin it is engaged with the lug the filling piece participates in the quadding movements of the jaw and fits within the mould cavity when thereafter the mould is advanced for casting.

To provide for different thicknesses of slugs and for variations in the height of the blank portions, interchangeable filling pieces a may be employed, and the means for attaching the strips to the supporting bracket designed accordingly. For example, the supporting bracket may be formed with an open top and a cover Z vertically slidable on the bracket against the action of a spring 172 tending to hold it down on to the top of the strip a. The cover Z may conveniently be guided by pin and slot connection with the bracket b as shown in Figure 4. If in this arrangement the spring m tends to obstruct the mould when the mould wheel turns, a modified mounting of the cover Z may be employed, as shown in Figure 5. In this construction the cover I is dove-tailed into the bracket b and the spring 172 sunk into a semicylindrical recess in the face of the downwardly projecting portion of the cover Z.

As stated above, the vertical width of the strip a may be equal to the width of the mould slot, but to facilitate the entry of the filling piece a into the mould slot the front of the latter may be slightly widened to a depth equal to the thickness of the strip in order to provide a clearance for the latter, thus forming slight projections at the sides of the slug body which are trimmed off when the slug is ejected through the usual trimming knives.

It is to be understood that the arrangement according to the invention may be applied to either or both jaws, and used in conjunction with any suitable means for effecting the quadding movement of the jaw or jaws, and that the connection between the filling piece and the quadding means may be varied to suit the requirements of any particular construction, without departing in any way from the scope of the invention.

Having described our invention, we declare that what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A typographical slug casting machine comprising line clamping jaws and quadding devices therefor, a mould slot, a filling piece mounted in dependently of the jaws and adapted to reduce the depth of said slot over the length thereof not presented with matrices, and means for detachably connecting said filling piece to a jaw, when desired, in order that it is moved therewith when the latter clamps the line.

2. A typographical slug casting machine comprising line clamping jaws and quadding means therefor, a mould slot, supporting means fixed to the vise frame, a filling piece in the plane of said mould slot slidably mounted in said support adjacent to a jaw face, and means for attaching said filling piece to said jaw when desired.

3. A typographical slug casting machine comprising line clamping jaws and quadding means therefor, a mould slot, a supporting bracket secured to the vise frame and extending adjacent to a jaw face, a filling piece in the plane of said mould slot slidably mounted in said bracket, a spring-urged cover adapted to hold said filling piece in said bracket, and means for attaching said filling piece to said jaw when desired.

4. A typographical slug casting machine comprising line clamping jaws and quadding means therefor, a mould slot, supporting means extending from the vise frame, a filling piece in the plane of said mould slot slidably mounted in said support adjacent to a jaw face, a recess in said jaw, a lug on said filling piece extending into said recess, and catch means adapted to interconnect said lug and jaw recess when desired.

5. A typographical slug casting machine according to claim 1, wherein the length of said mould slot is defined by fixed liners in the mould of less depth than the mould, leaving a forward slot to accommodate part of said filling piece.

6. A typographical slug casting machine ac cording to claim 1, wherein the length of said mould slot is defined by fixed liners in the mould of less depth than the mould, leaving a forward slot to accommodate part of said filling piece, and the width of the mould slot forward of said liners being greater than the width of the slot to facilitate entry of said filling piece.

7. In a typographical slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, one movable toward the other to clamp a matrix line between them, a slotted mold, and a filling piece adapted to enter the mold slot over the length thereof not covered by the matrix line, said filling piece being movable with but mounted independently of the movable jaw.

8. In a typographical slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, one movable toward the other to clamp a matrix line between them, a slotted mold, and a filling piece adapted to enter the mold slot over the length thereof not covered by the matrix line, said filling piece being mounted independently of the movable jaw but detachably connected thereto so as to be movable therewith.

JOHN ERNEST BILLINGTON. RICHARD HENRY SCOTT. 

